There will be a Game 7 in Houston. The Texas Rangers pulled away late and barged to a 9-2 win over the Astros in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series on Sunday night at Minute Maid Park. The series is now even at 3-3, and that sets up a deciding Game 7 on Monday to determine who advances to the World Series to play either the Phillies or the Diamondbacks.
In Game 6, Nathan Eovaldi twirled 6 1/3 effective innings for the Rangers, and Adolis García, who was a main character in the Game 5 near-brawl, launched a ninth-inning grand slam to all but ensure the Texas win. The Game 6 outcome means that the road team remains undefeated in this series.
Now for some takeaways from Game 6.
The Rangers got opposite-field homers from Mitch Garver and Jonah Heim earlier in the game, but the blast that has everyone talking was Adolis García's ninth-inning grand slam off a Ryne Stanek fastball that put Game 6 out of reach. Here's a look:
That one left the bat at 110 mph and traveled 375 feet. In his prior four trips to the plate in Game 6, García struck out and was lustily booed by the Houston crowd all the while. The boos, of course, flow from Game 5 and García's central role in the near-brawl that's still being talked about. Most essentially, it gave Texas a seven-run lead and took all the pressure off the bullpen for the bottom of the ninth.
García has now homered in three straight games, and he has five home runs in the 2023 postseason.
Eovaldi looked like a Cy Young contender for Texas before a forearm injury landed him on the IL for more than a month. After he returned in early September, he struggled badly: a 9.30 ERA and similarly grim 7.88 FIP over his final six starts of the regular season. In the playoffs, however, Eovaldi found something much closer to vintage level. He came into his Game 6 start against the Astros with a 2.29 ERA across three starts this postseason with 24 strikeouts against only one (!) walk.
Then in this elimination game for Texas he worked 6 1/3 innings, allowed two runs on three hits, and struck out four versus three walks. He got just five whiffs on the night, so it wasn't a dominant outing. It was, however, an effective outing, and it gave his team a chance to win. That's indeed what they did. More broadly, Eovaldi continues to cement his reputation as a great postseason pitcher.
Altuve came into Game 6 with a slash line of .273/.333/.636 for the ALCS, and he picked up two more hits on Sunday night. That brings us to this nugget:
Altuve will be very much in the discussion for ALCS MVP honors if the Astros are able to win Game 7. However that plays out, Altuve's very substantial postseason body of work will look even better after his 2023 efforts.
The American League pennant will be decided on Monday back at Minute Maid Park with Game 7 between these two teams. First pitch is scheduled for 8:03 p.m. ET. Max Scherzer of the Rangers will oppose Cristian Javier of the Astros. Perhaps of note is that the road team is unbeaten in this series, and Houston in 2023 has a sub-.500 record at home.
Also of note:
The game was much closer than the final score suggests. Texas didn't blow it open until their five-run ninth inning. Game 7 is Monday night. I assume it will be Max Scherzer vs. Cristian Javier, but neither team has announced their Game 7 starter yet. This has been a terrific series and we'll get one more game.
Two pitches, two outs. Altuve grounded out.
Yanier Díaz grounds out to short. One pitch, one out.
Leclerc is sitting down and Andrew Heaney is coming in with the Rangers up 9-2. Sborz and Leclerc each threw 16 pitches. They'll be available tomorrow.
Gonna go out on a limb and say García enjoyed that.
García, of course, was one of the main actors throughout Game 5. Both because of his clutch home run and later with the hit-by-pitch incident with Abreu. Here, he ices Game 6 with a big grand slam off Ryne Stanek.
Take a look:
The Rangers lead 9-2. Turn out the lights, this one is over.
Some very interesting possibilities here.
Evan Carter strikes out and here comes Adolis García with the bases loaded. If he hits a grand slam here, he might flip his bat to the Alamo.
A painful insurance run. Seager takes a pitch to the leg, just above his ankle.
Seager hit by a pitch by Stanek. It's 5-2 Rangers.
How many runs would the Rangers need to score here to make the lead Chapman-proof in Bochy's eyes? I say no fewer than four.
Semien finally gets to that pitch away and lines a single to left. The Rangers have the bases loaded with no outs.
Bases loaded, nobody out. Seager due up.
Semien and Seager have had so many chances this series and haven't cashed in. They have another one here.
Altuve couldn't handle that one.
Jung opens the ninth with a 10-pitch walk.
This has been a tremendous series. I hope we get one more game.
The bases are left loaded. Leclerc is up to 16 pitches. The Rangers will take at least a two-run lead to the ninth.
We're going to the ninth.
Or not, Jonathan Singleton is pinch-hitting.
Dubón lines out to short for the second out. It's up to Peña, last year's ALCS and World Series MVP.
Leclerc is an out away from escaping the jam with a two-run lead.
Bad time to start expanding the zone.
The bases are full of Astros with one out. Dubón, Peña, Maldonado (probably Díaz as a pinch-hitter) are coming up.
Unless Tucker hits into a double play or there's a caught stealing or pickoff, Jose Altuve will get another at-bat.
Took only three pitches. Gutsy.
But Alvarez has historically performed worse against right-handed curveballs than most pitches. Sborz, in theory, would be a better matchup for the Rangers against Alvarez than most of their candidates.
Here comes Yordan Alvarez. Put on your seatbelts.
I would not advise a leadoff walk in front of Yordan Alvarez.
Falls behind 2-1 to Bregman.
